A collection of tips, resources, and suggestions to help you deliver instruction and support your students remotely.

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Core Areas of Remote Instruction

When thinking about teaching your remote course, it is helpful to consider four core areas of instruction: (1) communicating with students, (2) delivering course content, (3) fostering student engagement, and (4) assessing student learning. The drop-down menus below reveal some of the goals/tasks within each of these four areas, along with associated tools (e.g., ConferZoom). Click on the hyperlinks provided to see how-to guides, videos, and examples.

Keep in mind that the goals/tasks currently outlined on this page are more basic in nature. Across the next several weeks, additional intermediate and advanced goals/tasks will be added. We encourage you to bookmark this page so that you can easily return to it to review these additions.

Communicating With Students

Frequent and supportive communication will ensure higher retention and greater success for your students. There are two primary tools faculty use to communicate with students in their remote classes - Announcements and the Canvas Inbox.

Goal Tool Example Strategy
Communicate with your entire class at once Announcements
  • Each week, communicate with students about course activities and post interesting course-related topics.
Communicate with an individual student Canvas Inbox
  • Write to students privately to check on how they are doing, and if there’s anything you can do to help them be more successful in your class

Delivering Course Content

One of the most critical aspects of a remote course is the quality of its content. Your content is what provides the stimulus for student learning, engagement, and interactions.

Goal Tool Example Strategy
Upload readings and lecture content

Files in Canvas
  • Store and organize your Word documents, PDFs, PowerPoint slides, or spreadsheets that you plan to share with students.
Organize course content by weeks, units, topics, etc. Modules
  • Provide an overview  for your students to follow each week.
Post brief instructional videos

Create a Video in Canvas 
  • Pre-record lecture content that you would have conveyed if teaching in-person.
Record your computer screen with a voice-over

Screencast-O-Matic
  • Create short videos or screencasts, and then purposefully have discussions or a quiz before students view the next segment.

Fostering Student Engagement

There is a strong connection between higher student engagement and persistence and retention. Encouraging student engagement is especially important in the remote environment where students might feel more disconnected and isolated.

Goal Tool Example Strategy
Create a Discussion Board

Discussions
  • Follow-up on a question or conversation that began in your face-to-face classroom, and/or has emerged in your remote classroom.
Conduct live lectures
  • Record all sessions in the Cloud so that your recordings include a transcript.
  • Post all class recordings in Canvas for students who cannot attend a live session.
Group Discussions or Group Assignments
  • Give students their own group space to collaborate on projects, share files, or discuss ideas with each other.
Hold Office Hours
  • Invite students to visit you during your scheduled office hours.
  • Use the “waiting room” feature so that you can meet with one student at a time.

Assessing Student Learning

In remote instruction, a variety of assessment strategies can be employed.

Goal Tool Example Strategy
Give Quizzes

Quizzes in Canvas
  • Gauge learner progress using ungraded quizzes.
  • Randomize questions for graded quizzes.
  • Avoid high-stakes testing.
Assign student papers or projects
  • Create writing assignments in Canvas that use Turnitin to check for plagiarism.
  • Have students curate their work in an ePortfolio
Assign peer review
  • Assign students to review each other's work, or have reviews randomly distributed by Canvas with a single click in Canvas.
Provide clear assignment expectations
  • Attach a rubric to your Canvas assignments, graded discussion items, and quizzes.
  • Rubrics can be used for grading purposes or for feedback only.
Provide feedback and grades
  • Provide feedback and comments directly in a student’s paper.

Instructional Continuity

Resources to help you set up your class for online/remote instruction.

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Support For Remote Teaching 

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